ST. PETERSBURG, FL & CHICAGO, IL – December 4, 2019 – Kin, the insurance technology company reinventing home insurance for catastrophe-prone areas with easy, affordable coverage and world-class customer service, announced it now offers two new discounts for Florida homeowners.
The Responsible Repair Discount, an industry first, offers an 18% discount on the water peril premium for an average discount of five percent off the total premium and is made possible by the passage of Insurance Assignment Agreements (SB 122, HB 7065). The e-Policy Discount provides another $10 premium discount. Both discounts will be live for all policies with an effective date of December 2, 2019 or later.
“While other carriers may increase their rates, we’re lowering ours. With this legislation, we can now offer a discount to our Florida-based customers who do not assign their benefits to third parties, and we’ll continue to look for ways to better serve and simplify the home insurance process for Florida homeowners,” said Sean Harper, co-founder and CEO of Kin.
The bill, which was passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis, makes the Responsible Repair Discount possible. The bill pertains to an assignments of benefits (AOB) agreement, which is an agreement that, once signed, transfers the insurance claims rights or benefits of a consumer’s insurance policy to a third party. It gives the third party authority to file a claim, make repair decisions and collect insurance payments without the consumer’s involvement.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, abuse of AOB has fueled a crisis in Florida as the state has seen a 70% increase in AOB-related lawsuits from 2013-2018. AOB abuse has also cost Floridians billions in premiums to address unnecessary or overly expensive repairs as well as legal fees.
“Kin remains committed to serving the state of Florida, which is already a complex insurance market facing natural disasters, and consumer feedback indicates a very strong desire for the Responsible Repair Discount. We believe the majority of our Florida-based customers don't want to assign their rights to a third party and instead, would prefer a discount for agreeing not to,” said Angel Conlin, Kin’s St. Petersburg-based chief legal officer.
These policy discounts follow the announcement of Kin’s mobile home insurance offering in Florida and the launch of Kin’s Florida home insurance carrier, the Kin Interinsurance Network. Kin has offices in Chicago and St. Petersburg. Both offices are currently hiring new and experienced engineers, developers, customer service as well as insurance representatives, including agents and underwriters to serve policyholders in and beyond Florida.
About Kin
Kin Insurance is an insurtech startup and licensed insurance carrier that is fixing home insurance through intuitive tech, affordable pricing, and world-class customer service. By leveraging thousands of publicly available data points, Kin can recommend the appropriate coverage at affordable prices for homeowners. Launched by seasoned financial tech entrepreneurs Sean Harper and Lucas Ward in 2016, Kin is the first insurtech company to serve catastrophe-prone regions and is committed to helping coastal homeowners most impacted by climate change. The company is headquartered in Chicago with an office in Tampa Bay and currently serves Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Alabama, with plans to expand across the U.S. Kin is currently hiring in its Chicago and Tampa Bay offices. For more information, visit www.kin.com or www.kin.com/mobile-home-insurance.
